For Immediate Release
October 7, 2024
New Georgia Project Action Fund
Simran Jadavji, Strategic Communications Manager
[email protected], (646) 673-4191
New Georgia Project Action Fund Strongly Condemns the Reinstatement of Georgia’s Deadly Abortion Ban
(Atlanta, GA) – New Georgia Project Action Fund (NGPAF) released the following statement after the Georgia Supreme Court’s decision to reinstate Georgia’s lethal six-week abortion ban.
“The reinstatement of Georgia’s six-week abortion ban by the Georgia Supreme Court is just one in a long string of outrageous and harmful attempts to control women’s bodies. Less than two weeks after the news surfaced that Georgia’s abortion ban killed Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, officials in our state have the gall to put this deadly law back in place.
‘Reinstating Georgia’s six-week abortion ban is unconscionable, utterly disrespectful, and extremely dangerous,’ says NGPAF CEO Rev. Dr. Roslyn Satchel. ‘I don’t know how much more proof the people making these decisions about our lives need than the tragic deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller. These Black women died needless and preventable deaths as a direct result of this abortion ban—a ban that was put in place by Governor Brian Kemp, defended by Attorney General Chris Carr, and enacted because of Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade. These white men who claim to be “pro-life” clearly do not care if those lives belong to Black women. In a country founded on systemic racism and enslavement, they never have. They have blood on their hands and are doing everything they can to ensure women in Georgia—especially Black women—face potential death rather than the freedom to make their own healthcare decisions.’
The move by the Georgia Supreme Court comes just one week after a Fulton County judge ruled the six-week abortion ban was unconstitutional. Despite this ruling, the Georgia Supreme Court still insists on playing politics with women’s lives.
‘We knew this was coming,’ says NGPAF Reproductive Justice Organizing Ja’Mae Rooks. ‘I’ve never put my faith—let alone my life—in the hands of the men who currently run this state. In fact, I’m certain that I would be dead if this abortion ban were in place a few years ago. In 2016, I was able to find abortion care to terminate a pregnancy that doctors said would have likely killed me. Had that happened today, I’d have faced the same deadly fate as Amber Thurman and Candi Miller. Their tragic and preventable deaths fuel my work. With 29 days until Election Day, every Georgian needs to know that all our state legislators who voted for this abortion ban are on the ballot this year. Every Georgian needs to know that Donald Trump orchestrated the fall of Roe v. Wade, and he’s on the ballot this year. Voting is one tool we have to exercise our power. Bodily autonomy is not something we should be asking for. It is a right, and it’s time for us to get the folks denying us those rights out of our government.’
NGPAF will be working tirelessly in the lead up to early voting and Election Day to engage voters across the state, connecting reproductive healthcare, including this abortion ban, to the power and importance of voting. We dedicate our work to Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller and to all the women in Georgia who are once again at risk of losing their lives thanks to the callousness and hypocrisy of our supposed leaders.”
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